Heath, the bassist of legendary Japanese rock band X Japan, died on Oct. 29 after a battle with colorectal cancer. He was 55 years old.

The news of his death was announced in a statement issued by the band on Friday (Nov. 19). “His cancer was found during an examination in June of this year. Despite his efforts to battle the disease, his condition declined suddenly in October, and he took his last breath in the hospital,” the statement reads. Additionally, the band notes that Heath’s funeral will be private and attended by immediate family members only, and that his family asks for any visits, donations or flowers to be withheld.

Heath played bass for X Japan from 1992 up until the band’s split in 1997, and reunited with the group in 2007. He was with the group through the releases of albums like 1993’s Art of Life and 1996’s Dahlia. In 2018, the group performed at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

X Japan’s frontman Yoshiki Hayashi also shared a personal statement of mourning to his Instagram page, writing, “He was such a wonderful bass player, a band member, and a wonderful human being.

“Heath and I got closer than ever over this past year,” he continued. “On my birthday last year, he appeared as a guest on my program, and we talked endlessly afterwards in my dressing room. There was also a time after that when we talked on the phone for hours until daybreak. This summer, on August 20^th, Heath performed as a guest at my dinner show. How could I have known that that would be my last performance with him? I couldn’t help make Heath’s wishes come true, and for that I feel fully responsible. I apologized to him when I bid farewell.”

Yoshiki’s statement continues, “Speaking as Yoshiki personally, I am so mentally and physically drained, so drenched in sorrow, that I don’t know what to say right now. I feel that if I stop now, I won’t be able to go any further, so I’m immersing myself in my busy schedule. But as the leader of the band, there are still some things that I must do. Heath’s family conveyed his words to me: ‘Don’t be sad,’ he said. ‘Cheer up, and say goodbye to me with a smile.’ Heath also requested that I, Yoshiki, be in charge of his memorial concert. I will discuss this further with his family to make sure that that is accomplished. There are also several things I need to fight for in order to make that happen.”

He concluded, “My story with Heath keeps going on and on. I wish I knew how to express the depth of my feelings here, but first I need to learn how to live with this profound loss. I will have more to say in the future. Thank you for everything, Heath. And may you rest in peace. I hope that someday we can play music together again.”

Read Yoshiki’s full statement here.

The 2023 Latin Grammys took place for the first time internationally in Seville, Spain, on Thursday (Nov. 16) — and to celebrate, Latin music’s hottest artists of yesterday and today were present. 

Among the star-studded guests was Feid, who in the midst of his European tour traveled to Spain to put colleagues and viewers alike on their feet with the Latin Grammys closing performance.

Moving away from his signature green outfits, the Colombian artist was decked out in an all-white ensemble, including his famed “Ferxxo” sunglasses.

He began his performance with an acoustic version of his song “Prohibidox,” backed by a romantic piano melody. Shortly after, he invited DJ Premier onstage to perform their hit “Le Pido a Dios.” Not only did Feid shine with his strong, live vocals, but he also had the entire room dancing — including his Medallo squad, Karol G, Ovy on the Drums and Keityn.

Feid was a five-time nominee at the 2023 Latin Grammys, including best rap/hip hop song, best urban/fusion performance, best urban music album and two songs in best reggaeton performance.

The 2023 Latin Grammys, led by top nominee Edgar Barrera, featured performances from Andrea Bocelli, Alejandro Sanz, Bizarrap, Borja, Camilo, Carin León, Christian Nodal, David Guetta, DJ Premier, Édgar Barrera, Eslabón Armado, Feid, GALE, Iza, Joaquina, Juanes, Kany García, Laura Pausini, Leon Leiden, Maluma, Manuel Carrasco, Maria Becerra, Milo J, Natascha Falcão, Ozuna, Pablo Alborán, Paola Guanche, Peso Pluma, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Yatra, and Shakira.

For the first time airing internationally, the 24th annual awards show took place on Thursday (Nov. 16) at the Conference and Exhibition Centre (FIBES) in Seville, Spain. It aired on Univision, UniMás and Galavisión. It was broadcasted on Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) in Spain.

Rauw Alejandro arrived at the 2023 Latin Grammys on Thursday (Nov. 16) with his beloved mom as his date—and soon after strutting the red carpet with his suave appeal, he took center stage at the awards ceremony.

The Puerto Rican artist, who was nominated for best urban music album with Saturno, performed an energetic dance medley that kicked off with his own melancholic rendition of Laura Pausini’s (the 2023 Person of the Year) “Se Fue.” Wearing an all-white suit, Rauw’s watery eyes glistened as he remembered a past love. 

Shortly after, he picked up the mood by going backstage and teaming up with a group of dancers for a killer choreography as he sang his ‘80s retro-inspired “DIME QUIÉN ????” Now changed to an edgy, leather fit in red, Rauw went back on stage to perform the electro-pop “Baby Hello.” 

To everyone’s surprise, he was joined by Juanes, who in true Colombian rockstar fashion, performed an incredible guitar solo.  

The 2023 Latin Grammys, led by top nominee Edgar Barrera, featured performances from Andrea Bocelli, Alejandro Sanz, Bizarrap, Borja, Camilo, Carin León, Christian Nodal, David Guetta, DJ Premier, Édgar Barrera, Eslabón Armado, Feid, GALE, Iza, Joaquina, Juanes, Kany García, Laura Pausini, Leon Leiden, Maluma, Manuel Carrasco, Maria Becerra, Milo J, Natascha Falcão, Ozuna, Pablo Alborán, Paola Guanche, Peso Pluma, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Yatra, and Shakira.

For the first time airing internationally, the 24th annual award show took place on Thursday (Nov. 16) at the Conference and Exhibition Centre (FIBES) in Seville, Spain. It aired on Univision, UniMás and Galavisión. It was broadcasted on Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) in Spain. Check back to Billboard.com throughout the night for the latest news on performances, special awards and more.

Amid the offerings at the LA3C festival that took place in downtown L.A. this past weekend (Nov. 11-12), a presentation from the Saudi Arabia Music Commission put forth a broad view of the music industry currently being developed in the country.

Hosted by VIBE editor-in-chief Datwon Thomas, panelists included Paul Pacifico, CEO of the Saudi Music Commission; Ahmad Alammary, chief creative officer for the Saudi electronic music festival Soundstorm; Gigi Arabia, the founder/CEO of Saudi heavy metal organization Heavy Arabia; Mexican-American songwriter, producer and academic Fernando Garibay, who has worked in the Kingdom; and Saudi singer-songwriter Tamtam.

Saudi Arabia has seen significant social changes in the last decade, as the government has eased restrictions around formerly prohibited activities like playing music in public and co-ed gatherings. These new freedoms have helped lay the groundwork for the formation of a music industry, with the bulk of the panel discussion focused on how this industry is currently being built from scratch.

“We have huge pent-up supply of creativity and music,” said Pacifico, a Brit who joined the Music Commission as CEO in January 2023. “We have huge pent-up demand among audiences that have grown up wanting to go to festivals, concerts, events, to listen to music and enjoy themselves.”

“But we lack enablers,” Pacifico continued. “So over the next one year, three years, five years, it’s going to be all about building the structures that connect those dots that allow people to express themselves creatively and to build platforms that will enable Saudi artists to tell their stories in a way that will be heard around the world.”

“A lot of people working in the [global music] industry ask how we can fix our industry, or how we can rethink our industry,” added Garibay, “but I don’t think we’ve ever had in the history over the past 100 years a chance to think about, ‘How would you start over? How would you start from a new perspective?’”

The discussion emphasized that while Saudi Arabia does not yet have venues, a collecting society and other essential infrastructure, this clean canvas is allowing key players to, Alammary said, “shape it the way we want to learn from the lessons around the world and actually serve artists.”

Pacifico cited the major opportunities for artists in Saudi Arabia with respect to the country’s demographics, saying that “70% of the people are under 35 years old, and the country has 98% Internet penetration. So you have a young, connected, dynamic and unbelievably energized population.”

The panelists agreed that this audience and the emerging industry combined are creating huge opportunities for Saudi artists, as formerly underground scenes are coalesced and, as Alammary said, “unveiled.” These formerly underground scenes include those around genres like electronic music, the focus of the Saudi mega-festival Soundstorm that launched in 2019, along with hip-hop, heavy metal and more.

“All of the events took place in super unconventional places,” Arabia said of the Saudi metal scene before music-related restrictions were lifted. “We have something in Saudi called rest houses, little houses in the middle of nowhere for people to rest in if they’re going on a road trip, where events took place.”

“We’re still growing it event by event,” Arabia added in regard to the country’s current aboveground metal scene. “With the help of the Music Commission and its leadership, now we have been able to go and represent it in the genre globally.” She foresees Saudi Arabia becoming a “hotspot for metal heads” in a fashion similar to the Nordic region.

The Music Commission exists under the Saudi Ministry of Culture, a government entity focused on expanding the country’s entertainment sector through endeavors into music, sports, film and more. These entities exist as part of Vision 2030, the Saudi government’s plan, it says, to diversify the country’s economy, society and culture. (The LA3C panel did not touch on the challenges of building an industry amid the still-existing restrictions of the Saudi government, which does not protect freedom of speech and which, despite some recent advancements, still imposes myriad restrictions on women.)

“There’s an incomplete picture. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing,” Pacifico said of the country’s current industry, “But we see record labels coming up, we see management companies growing. The most amazing thing is the whole music industry is going through an accelerated time of massive change, and Saudi Arabia as a country is going through a massively accelerated time of change. So nothing’s taken for granted… and we can just think again about how to do things better, quicker, more efficiently.”

The presentation also included performances from Tamtam, Saudi pop artist Mishaal Tamer — who released his debut EP in 2020 via RCA Records and opened for OneRepublic on tour this past summer — and Riyadh-based producer and songwriter NTITLED.

LA3C was built to highlight communities creating culture around the world. LA3C created a paid partnership with the Saudi Music Commission to highlight the cultural shift in the commercial entertainment sector and with regional artists that have a presence in the United States and Saudi Arabia. LA3C is owned by Penske Media Corporation which is also the parent company of Billboard.